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Guest commentary: An open dialogue with Walmart

By Ricardo Munoz

Posted:
03/29/2013 01:00:00 AM MDT

In late January, according to the Daily Camera Walmart management finally declared itself as the mystery applicant for "Store #3096" at the Diagonal Plaza. I say "finally" because rumors had been circulating since September last year with hardly a peep from Walmart management about addressing citizen concerns that they were about to establish a store in Boulder. As Alicia Wallace reported it in this newspaper, job postings were made, floor plans were filed with the city, inquiries of other Boulder businesses denied ownership of the application, and all sorts of clues made it seem unlikely that any company but Walmart was the prospective operator. And now that Walmart is out in the open, some people are understandably upset about being deceived. Walmart's reputation for killing downtown businesses and depressing local wages is well known. And Walmart management knows about their reputation well enough to avoid scrutiny by "sneaking in."

There was, of course, little else that citizens should have expected from Walmart. Because deception is part of the game of capitalist competition, keeping quiet about precise business plans probably is a good idea when facing stiff competition, especially in the retail trade at which Walmart is the world's most successful. And given the Boulder city government's rejection of their applications for permits three times in the last two decades, it's also understandable that Walmart should have kept quiet about their plans. As one guest opinion to the Daily Camera by Charlie Danaher exclaimed, "Do they expect them to call city hall, alerting them that an application is underway, and giving them ample opportunity to deny their application, yet again?"

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That is a good question, but not quite in the rhetorical manner that Danaher intended. An even better question would be, "What could Walmart have done instead of being 'sneaky'?" The answer I suggest is "open dialogue."

"Sneaking in" is a bad start but there's no reason why a good ending might not come out of good dialogue. And if, in the process, Walmart management finds no way to meet community expectations without sacrificing profits, then perhaps that is the message that Walmart managers need to hear. But surely there is some way for Walmart to profit without killing Boulder businesses and depressing retail wages. And surely there's no harm in learning how to be a good corporate citizen by addressing local concerns through dialogue.

We understand how there are various styles of dealing with conflict that run a gamut from collaboration to avoidance. Avoidance may be a good strategy for some situations, but scholars who study dialogue know that avoiding conflict is often deliberate and meant to disempower the other party. Corporate managers understand this use of avoidance and the strategy of Walmart management, thus far, has been to "manage" dialogue by avoiding it.

As some communication scholars might say "silence communicates." This is what Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel meant when she described Walmart as "completely disingenuous." Walmart management knew that there was opposition to their plans but managed this conflict by simply avoiding it.

So let's ask again: What should Walmart do now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag? Walmart management could dialogue in earnest with concerned citizens and negotiate their presence in Boulder out in the open. "Negotiate" does not mean simply filing the necessary paperwork with the city government.

Walmart management should acknowledge that "managing" this conflict according to their current strategy will only result in short-term gains that may harm the community if interests are not heard. There are alternative modes of dialogue that communication experts recommend that are productive rather than destructive. Alternatives may involve engaging in focus group discussions run by neutral consultants in order to understand and address citizen concerns. Gaining public trust among a community means being more than just another commercial presence trying to gain customers and drive away competition through lower prices; it will mean an actual willingness to address specific concerns that result from good communication.

Ricardo Munoz is a graduate student in the Communication Department at the University of Colorado Boulder.

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